Tuesday, 27 May 2014

ALBION SUGAR were on the Arsenal site and one of the many sugar works in east London. I would be grateful for details of the buildings they occupied - since I know they were of particular interest but have forgotten why.

However - we have been sent this really rather beautiful brochure about the works - but, unfortunately, the facilities available on this blog site will not allow me to reproduce the typography as I would like. (If anyone would like a PDF of the whole thing, let me know). .

FOREWORD

The sudden appearance of a fully equipped sugar factory,
springing into adult existence one bright morning from apparently nothing, is as
rare a phenomenon in the industrial sphere as is the emergence of a new comet
in the world of astronomy. In both cases speculation naturally arises as to the
origin of the new body, its composition, size and orbit -its very raison
d'etre. The Directors of Albion Sugar Company Ltd feel that the many questions
which are sure to be raised about this new concern merit a full and frank
reply. To anticipate and answer such questions as a potential customer would be
likely to ask is the purpose of this brochure.

Albion Wharf, Woolwich, London, Autumn 1929.
﻿

Albion Wharf and Factory from the Thames

The Story of an Idea - and its Realisation.

One of the most striking features of industrial progress in
the last quarter of a century has been the waning of that austere spirit of
individualism which not infrequently caused useless friction, and a
corresponding waxing of friendly relations between businesses with identical
interests. In many instances this friendship exists without any kind of
amalgamation or even working agreement. A case in point is the amity that has
for some years existed between the firms of White, Tomkins & Courage Ltd, R.
& W. Paul Ltd, and Gillman & Spencer Ltd-three businesses engaged in
the manufacture of brewing materials, yet each conducted entirely independently
of the others.

These three firms have now, while retaining the same complete
individuality as hitherto, come into closer association in a new enterprise-
Albion Sugar Company Limited. It is as well at this juncture to state unequivocally
that this amalgamation is confined to this single development.

Scope for Expansion

THE
heads of these three firms had for a long held the opinion that, subject to
certain requirements being fulfilled, great scope for the expansion of business
lay in the manufacture of Invert Sugar. The idea simmered for some years, until
it was clear that all the basic conditions could at last be satisfied, and Albion
Sugar Company Limited, Woolwich is the outcome.

What were those conditions, and what were the reasons for
them?

The view was held that it would be possible to manufacture Invert
Sugar of the highest quality, and at a price which would compete favourably
with current quotations, provided first, that the initial outlay could be kept
within reasonable bounds, so that it would not be necessary to pay interest on

a large capital: and, second, that, within this limit, such premises could be
found as would render practicable the economical handling of goods from raw
material to finished product. I t was realised that by adopting the most modern
designs and devices in plant a considerable saving in working expenses could be
effected, and that a second item on which capital expenditure might be saved
was that of premises. Would it be possible to find, ready to hand, and at an
economical price, a suitable site with premises capable of housing a complete
Invert Sugar plant, lending itself to expansion if necessary, and having both
rail and water facilities ? Would it be like crying for the moon to hope for such
a Utopia?

The Search Succeeds

For some years, indeed, the search seemed hopeless: no section
of the navigable Thames was left uninspected, yet nothing that satisfied all
these requirements was discovered. At last, however, when hope had been -
almost given up, the dream was realised. The Albion Wharf, Woolwich, property
of the State, came into the market, and an inspection quickly revealed that it
was, in every respect, an ideal site for the new venture. Negotiations took
place with the Admiralty, and the freehold purchase of the land and premises
was effected at a figure which was to the entire satisfaction of the buyers.
Thus the initial obstacle, which had at one time seemed almost Insuperable, was
overcome, and Albion Sugar Company Limited was duly formed and registered

Ideal Premises

PREMISES having been acquired, plans which had hitherto existed
merely as ideas began to take shape, and it was realised that nothing could
have been more remarkable or more fortunate than the ready adaptability of the
Albion Wharf property to the new Company's ideas and requirements. The main
factory building comprises three storeys, its ground dimensions being 200 feet
by 60 feet, with two wings of the same height and ground dimensions of 160 feet
by 50 feet each. Like all State property of a permanent character, this factory
is a thoroughly substantial structure, and in all such important matters as
lighting, ventilation, stairways and doors it lacks nothing that the most
exacting modern requirements could demand. This building lent itself to the perfect
disposition of the complete plant, just as though it had been specially designed
for the purpose. At the same time, sufficient space has been left for future
expansion, and the whole of the plant could be duplicated and even triplicated,
if necessary, without occasioning any disturbance of the present arrangement.

A Model Wharf.

The second remarkably valuable asset possessed by these
premises is its river frontage. A granite wall 400 feet long, such as no
private concern trading for profit could afford to construct to-day, protects
the buildings and land against the highest spring tide and also affords a 18
feet berth, so that cargoes can be landed direct to the warehouse by means of a
powerful electric crane: coal supplies are also discharged by a 35cwt grab and carried
straight to the boilers by automatic conveyor. (It may here be stated that the
adoption of the latest labour-saving devices has been a guiding principle
throughout the whole equipment of the factory, at a saving of many thousands of
pounds per annum

A Natural Water Supply

To proceed with some of the numerous advantages afforded by
this unique site-advantages which have been either utilised as they stood or
adapted to special purposes. In the process of Invert Sugar manufacture a vast
quantity of water is required for condensing and cooling purposes, and it was
found possible to utilise an existing inlet from the Thames as a means of
supplying water in unlimited quantities. This is an immense advantage which
could readily be measured in terms of cash

A private railway siding

So much for the substantial benefits gained from so desirable
a riverfront, let us now consider what the back of the premises has to offer.
First, a group of buildings which, without any appreciable alteration, have
been adapted to hold a large battery of boilers, an extensive garage, a
coopers' shop and store-rooms: a second substantial building, connected with
the factory by a bridge. In which the spacious offices and laboratory are
housed. Second, a private railway-siding connecting up directly with the main
lines. Trucks can thus be loaded and despatched to their destination with a minimum
of handling, and equal facilities are, of course, available for the speedy and
economical return of empties. "Direct from producer to consumer" that
hackneyed and misused slogan, becomes, in the case of Albion products, a phrase
fraught with significance .

A Fleet of Lorries.

ROAD TRANSPORT is another item Company is particularly
favoured. A splendid road skirts the whole of the premises and leads into the
Albion Road, via which the Albion lorries speed into all parts

Low Costs Achieved

The list of advantages offered by these ideal premises could
be lengthened much more, but enough has now been stated to show that, in their
total, these remarkable facilities have made possible the avoidance of a heavy
incubus of charges-charges which, no matter under what heading they are
debited, inevitably have to be taken into account when costs are calculated. As
has been stated, it was on the possibility of being able to initiate and carry
on the business with a minimum of capital and working expenses, that the original
conception was based, and it is gratifying to be able to record that those
early ambitions have now been fully realised.

Staff and Plant.

THE Albion Wharf premises having been secured, there remained
to be settled two other matters of very great importance. First there was the
finding of a first-class works- manager and the appointment of a trained staff:
second, the purchase and installation of the plant

THE Works management

FURTHER good fortune was experienced in securing the
services as Works Manager, of Mr. Thomas S. Dick, than whom there is probably
no better-known figure in the Invert Sugar industry. Mr. Dick's thirty years'
practical experience, in Greenock and London, of every branch of sugar refining
and of Invert Sugar manufacture had qualified him as being pre-eminently the
man for this important key- position, and it was very gratifying to the Company
that he consented to take charge of the new works, for it was realised that,
although all the Directors were experienced in various branches of the
manufacture of brewing materials, and controlled, in their several staffs,
highly qualified chemists, it was nevertheless essential to have on the spot a
responsible works-manager who could devote all his time and energy to Albion Sugar
Company.

Entirely New Plant.

The purchase and installation of the plant was undertaken with
the Works Manager's invaluable co-operation, As has already been stated, it
was not the Company's policy to economise on initial

outlay, but rather to
ensure that the plant should be a hundred per cent efficient and as much per
cent automatic as human ingenuity could devise: this definitely stated principle
guided the purchase of every item of plant, and evidence of its application is
to be seen on every hand. The whole of the plant is new and of the most modern
type: in its various functions are to be seen many devices making for a saving
of power and labour and thereby contributing their quota to economical manufacture.
So successfully has this initial sine-qua-non of low-cost production been met that the
long-visualised possibility of manufacturing highest quality Invert Sugar at
the lowest possible cost has now become an accomplished fact. Thus far, with
all their preliminary requirements satisfied and economical manufacture
guaranteed, the Albion Directors realise that their hopes and aims have been
abundantly justified.

Invert Sugar Processes

We reproduce in these pages a number of photographs which
will doubtless give the reader a good idea of the magnitude of the Albion Wharf
premises and plant. Beyond a brief title to each photograph we will not attempt
any description, as to do so would mean embarking on a necessarily long
dissertation on the processes of sugar- refining and inversion. Suffice it to
say that raw sugar is unloaded at the Albion quay and that Invert Sugars to
meet the various requirements of the brewing trade leave the Albion factory by
rail, lorry and barge: the flow of processes between the first and final stages
is followed in the order of the illustrations. The works are supplemented by
modern and fully equipped laboratories, and every batch of Invert Sugar manufactured
has to pass the most stringent laboratory tests before being released for
despatch.

An Invitation

There are no secrets in Albion Wharf, and an open invitation
is hereby cordially extended to all brewers and to members of their executive
staffs to pay a visit to the factory. A conducted tour of the works, tracing
the flow of processes from start to finish, is a highly interesting experience,
and it is hoped that a great many brewers, whether customers or not, will make an
early opportunity to pay a visit.

Sunday, 25 May 2014

Yesterday's posting featured the article in the current Industrial Archaeology News about our own Enderby Wharf - but that was not the only Greenwich (well nearby Greenwich) items featured in that issue.

**** a long article on "Roller flour milling, white bread and the Millennium Mills, London. Millennium Mills will be familiar to anyone who looks across to the other side of the river - easily visible from upstairs in my Humber Road house. This is an important article about an important site.

**** a short note about a grant to the (just up in Rotherhithe) Brunel Museum - to allow them to open up access to Marc Brunel's entrance shaft.

**** a page on Lewisham's Excalibur prefab and much in the news estate. (we have a speaker on that early next year)

**** an item on Deptford Dockyard (in Greenwich until the 1970s) and the grant of planning approval by Mayor B.Johnson instead of the decision being made, democratically, by London Borough of Lewisham.

Saturday, 24 May 2014

The Association for Industrial Archaeology is the national body dealing with industrial heritage - and they tend to get notice taken of them. I was therefore good to see that their current News (169 Summer 2014) features a longish article on the risks to our own Enderby Wharf.

The article is under the heading
Enderby Wharf - London - At risk

"On the south bank of the Thames in Greenwich northeast of the historic town centre, the Enderby Wharf site is the cradle of the world's communication revolution, on a par with the Ironbridge Gorge, cradle of the industrial revolution, and comparable with Bletchley Park".

The article continues to describe how: "From 1857 submarine telegraph cables were manufactured on the site, these being laid on routes such as Corsica-Sardinia, Lowestoft-Zandvoort, Malta-Alexandria and Sicily -- - Algeria. In the mid 1860s the successful transatlantic cables laid by Brunel's SS Great Eastern were made here and many more followed. ......

......................The telegraph revolution of the mid-Victorian period radically changed stock market speculation. business in general, the way the Empire was administered and international politics'.... it is further claimed by Tom Standage in his thought-provoking book The Victorian Internet that compared with the present-day Internet the electric telegraph was the more significant, since the ability to communicate globally at all in real- time was a qualitative shift, while the change
brought about by the modern Internet was merely a quantitative shift.

and

"As a heritage asset Enderby Wharf is as important to Greenwich as the Royal Observatory, and as important to industrial history as Stephenson's Rocket"

and continues with the sad tale of dereliction and destruction on the site - and the consequent award of planning consent as a cruise liner terminal and more and more blocks of flats.

(The article does not mention what appears to be the complete ignorance of this site by the Council, the developers, and - indeed - English Heritage. A small group of local historians are battling on. Please get in touch if you would like to help)

Wednesday, 14 May 2014

Just in case we run away with the idea that all Greenwich workers were men doing heavy process work - here are some pictures of office staff at Charlton's United Glass works. With thanks to Brenda Batho.